We don't usually cruise Carnival maybe (8 times) but it suited us this time. I'm a long time cruiser with over 50 cruise. Don't stick to any one cruise line as I don't like playing the status designations. If they want to give me something, then I'll take it. But I'm not going to pick a particular cruise line because of my status. That being said. Just got back from Mexican Riviera today. As usual, the cruise staff was great and functioned as best as they could under the Carnival regimen. (Others cruise staff are treated better by their bosses and so treat us better, fyi.) Food was limited. Not much difference between the buffet options and the restaurant. So if you don't like to dress up, like we don't, you get the same food. But overall variety of options are very limited. Food quality was not bad, but not something to rave about. I didnt' get poisoned. Had great weather and it was a good time of the year for this cruise, climate wise. There were still bug bites to be gotten, especially at Puerto Vallarta, compared to summer time, So bring bug spray. But temperatures were perfect. Entertainment of this ship is limited, it might be their training ground ship perhaps.

Got a suite with all the amenities that often come with it (laundry, spa, priority on and off the ship, etc), Our steward, Rogie, was awesome. ATTENTION: Not enough outlets in the rooms to charge all of our devices. We usually bring extension cords to we can charge our ipads and cellphones. But there was only one 120volt outlet and it was in the bathroom. We talked our steward into bring us a power strip with extra plugs. Make sure your extension cords are 3 pronged (grounded)

Only critique: Who books a cruise and doesn't get onboard credit. Was supposed to have $200 onboard credit for spending, but never got it. This is not a deal breaker for me, but in principle I feel cheated and it leaves a bad last day carnival taste for me. Wouldn't blame the ship's staff at all when I inquired about it. They checked into this and got back to me very quickly, so they did their part. But Carnival seemed to weasel out of their commitment somehow and stated that there was not onboard credit deal. Of all of the cruises I book with, I don't think that I have every not had onboard credit. Again, not a deal changer for me considering I lost a lot more having fun in the casino, Read more